Thai Coconut Sticky Rice With Mango (Khao Niao Mamuang)

Recipe taken from Serious Eats.

Notes

I didn’t use any fancy steamer/cheesecloth/towel concoction as recommended below; I did some research and the Instant Pot® or any decent rice cooker can make perfect sticky rice.

The recommendations I found suggested not to soak the rice (Step 1 below), but instead to rinse the rise the rice 3–4 times with cold water until the water does not appear too cloudy.  After that you can cook the sticky rice as you would any traditional rice in a rice cooker.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Thai sweet sticky rice (7 ounces; 200g)
  • 1 (14-ounce; 400ml) can full-fat coconut milk, blended well to incorporate fat, divided
  • ½ cup sugar (3½ ounces; 100g), divided
  • Kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoons (6g) cornstarch
  • 2 Ataúlfo mangoes (about 6 ounces or 170g each), peeled, pitted, and sliced
  • Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

Directions

  1. In a large bowl, cover rice with water by several inches and let stand at room temperature 1 hour or up to overnight. (If you plan on using the Istant Pot®, skip this step and instead rinse the rice with cold water a few times until it appears less cloudy).
  2. Drain rice. Assemble a steamer, line with cheesecloth or a clean kitchen towel, and add rice, smoothing surface to form an even layer. Set over high heat, bring water in steamer to a boil, cover, and cook until rice is tender, about 20 minutes. (Or just use the a rice cooker, or the Rice button on the Instant Pot®!)
  3. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, bring half the coconut milk to a simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently. Whisk in 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar and a large pinch of salt until dissolved. The coconut milk should taste salty-sweet.
  4. Transfer cooked rice to a large heatproof bowl and pour coconut milk mixture on top (it will look like too much liquid). Stir well to combine, cover with plastic, and let stand until liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes. (You can let it stand up to 2 hours at room temperature.)
  5. Meanwhile, clean saucepan and add remaining coconut milk to it. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch with a couple of teaspoons of the hot coconut milk and stir to form a slurry. Whisk cornstarch slurry into coconut milk and simmer until thickened, about 3 minutes. Whisk in remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and a large pinch of salt until dissolved. Keep coconut cream warm.
  6. When ready to serve, mound coconut rice onto plates and arrange sliced mango alongside. Drizzle coconut cream all over rice and garnish with toasted sesame seeds. Serve right away.